Reuters published an article earlier today on preparations underway at power plants anticipating the arrival of Hurricane Irene. Here are the paragraphs on East Coast nuclear power plants:

Progress Energy said it was taking safety precautions at its two-unit Brunswick nuclear plant in Southport, North Carolina, where the storm was expected to pass nearby on Saturday. The plant, 22 feet above sea level, is built to withstand winds of 128 miles per hour.

National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read warned on Thursday that Irene could blast up the East Coast with Category 2 storm force, packing winds of 96 to 110 mph.

“Being a large hurricane, tropical storm-force winds will extend far inland,” he warned.

Nuclear plant operator Public Service Enterprise Group said it was securing equipment against storm winds at its Salem and Hope Creek plants, along the Delaware River in Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey.

Checks “are being conducted for objects that could become airborne”, said Skip Sindoni, a spokesman for PSEG.

The plants could be taken offline if the storm causes the Delaware River to rise rapidly, he added.

At Indian Point, the large nuclear plant just 38 miles north of New York City, operator Entergy was “securing all material and equipment outside buildings and ensuring that we have a sufficient supply of diesel fuel for backup generators,” said spokesman Jim Steets.

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About Robert Singleton

By day, I work for a call center. In my spare time, I try to save my hometown (and planet) from a nearly constant onslaught of greedheads, lunatics and land developers. I live in a fictional town called Austin, Texas, where I go to way too many meetings.